Using my voice

In my work as an Occupational Therapist, I have come across situations where I felt under-confident to use my voice and give my perspective.
When I look back, I can see that these were in situations that might be seen as challenging – of the status quo.
It could be when one staff member is behaving in a questionable manner to another or in a questionable way to a patient / client. Open systems / working environments encourage an environment where all parts of the system can speak and share freely together. Closed systems do exactly the opposite. You can read more about this here.

Sometimes I have shied away from speaking up and at other times I have chosen to speak and share my perspective on the matter. The nature of the working environment – people, culture – has a strong influence , as does my confidence and knowledge on the issue. Globally I have found as I have matured in this field, I have become more confident to defend my clinical decisions. In general, the system will only benefit from colleagues who feel free rather than inhibited to share from their perspective and experience.

Sometimes, failing to share something relevant, especially in a health care environment can have consequences for staff and patients alike. I refer to the small day-day pieces of information that can make a difference to quality of life (rather than of course matters of life and death), however we know from recent news reports that a closed system culture of inhibited freedom to speak and share info can have dire consequences of the worst kind.
The Francis Inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust lead to a statutory ‘Duty of Candour’– being required by health professionals to share information with honesty and transparency with clients and their carers. However rules, and regulations do not matter unless a culture of openness exists which can support it (in which case it would likely not be required…).

Sometimes, my inhibition to speak has been due to internal factors, i.e. the limitations I put on myself, but at other times the limitations have been from an external source. It is an undeniable fact that some working environments are lead by individuals who prefer to work in an unchallenged way and can not, for whatever reason bare to reflect on their ways of working in a constructive way.

At times, we can be limited by the working environments we find ourselves in, and certainly, being unable to challenge or change an issue that we find intolerable (over a sustained period of time) can lead to stress and affect our self confidence and self-esteem. This is because the issues of concern may present something that conflicts with our principles, our sense of integrity and self-respect.

So what can we do?
As a professional, you are entitled to assert your opinion;
Speak up when you can – you feel better for having shared your opinion (rather than keeping it to yourself – this can lead to regret)
The more you speak up, the easier you’ll find it.
Often, others feel exactly the same or similar but lack the courage you demonstrate.
I have found that speaking up about an issue I believe in makes a difference; however small; small changes make a big difference..

The system benefits from wisdom of another perspective

What now?
You may find this training useful to build the resilience required to navigate tough work environments and find your voice: Self Leadership First